Review: Argon 2 Fourth Generation Chip for the Nintendo Wii

228w ago - Recently Team InFeCtuS has launched their new 4th Generation Mod-chip for the Nintendo Wii console.

The Argon 2 is both updatable via Internet and solderless, and also capable of running Wii homebrew software available at www.ArgonChannel.com.

Today we review the Argon 2 drive enhancement chip for the Wii.

I will start with my first impression of the chip itself. In size it is just a fraction larger that the infectus chip, which is not bad at all considering it has an integrated official wiiclip built in.

A quick video of it in action:





Please note: (many others need you to solder one on if you plan to use one with their chip, thus adding to the size of the chip needing it, then you have the added hasle of figuring out which one you need, and once you do solder it on... wait didn't you want a wiiclip because you're not so handy at soldering?)

So for the average user this chip is DIY, and plug-n-play via wiiclip. The PCB hardware itself is solid, and it is easy to see that it is of high quality. That being said, let's get down to actually putting the chip to use.

Upon first installing it my first test was with a dvd-rw, loaded it perfect and quite fast may I add! Next I tried a $0.20 dvd-r that along with being a very cheap no name media has also been tossed around like a Frisbee and never kept in a case... and it also loaded and played fine (although I do recommend using good media to preserve your laser's life).

Next I install the ArgonChannel which is included free. Installation was very easy for me on my 3.2u firmware, just burned the disc and ran it. Entering the required code and my e-mail address took less than 1 min. Easy as can be!

Now I burn and insert the update disc, and launch the argonchannel, and select update. I opted to try the internet update as this is something new that's not been done before.

The Argon 2 is advertised to be brick proof in regards to updating... soooo I pulled the plug on my Wii while it was installing. Once powered back on it was just as advertised the chip was working just fine, so I went ahead and let the Internet update finish this time and went from the 1.0 that it was shipped with to 1.7.

Tried my discs again and still flawless, solid performance. Not one eject issue or need to reboot for the disc to be recognized. +1 Argon team!

Testing the features of the ArgonChannel went great, all the apps listed installed without error and the channel was very easy to navigate, I look forward to any new releases that come to it!

My overall opinion of the Argon 2?

It's a great chip with new features and a great way to bring casual gamers into the world of homebrew! Everything worked as described and it performed great with regards to disc recognition. Definitely a recommended product!